--- The Third Floor ---
This afternoon at Golden oak's had been, all things considered, had been almost dully normal outside of two very distinctive factors. The first was the presence of Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle. The three fillies had requested Twilight's assistance on a school project, and the young alicorn had agreed to help them out. The second and much more pressing matter was the absence of her employer, Knox Onwud.
Twilight and the trio of students had encountered the sarosian rather briefly upon arrival at the establishment, only for him to hurriedly leave on "personal business" of his. When asked about what he was doing, he simply stated that an old friend of his was going to be in town today and that he needed to see them. After that, he had tossed Twilight the keys and told her to lock up at closing time if he didn't return by then. The frantic nature in which Knox had left in, combined with Twilight's earlier encounter with Applejack, had given the alicorn no end of concern about what exactly he was doing. But at the same time, she didn't have much time to linger and dwell on that. When one has three excitable young ponies who need help with a school project all but pestering them, they tend to focus on that.
The actual project work itself wasn't all that bad. The fillies had managed to build the base of their miniature siege engine with glue and popsicle sticks—some reconstruction required due to it spending time in a school-filly's saddlebags for so long. After that, the only things needed were the beam, the pivot, the sling, and the counter-weight. Which, as luck would have it, were exactly the things they needed help with. The beam and pivot were the simplest, just a few more popsicle sticks—carefully combined with glue to achieve the optimal ratio with the rest of the construction—and a simple pivot hinge that Twilight constructed with the use of a loose nail. The only reason it had taken as long as it did was because of Twilight's duties as a librarian, the purple alicorn having to assist the occasional pony to wander into the library.
Why Scootaloo had a loose nail in her saddlebags Twilight didn't know. And considering the way that the pegasus had been answering most questions thus far, maybe that was for the best.
"Alright then, it's starting to come together," Apple Bloom idly commented, testing out the newly installed pivot to the trebuchet. "Now we just need to make it shoot stuff."
"And I got that covered," Scootaloo beamed as she once more delved into the depths of her saddlebags. Twilight found herself anxious about whatever else could be hiding away in there. Thankfully some of that anxiety melted away when the orange pegasus pulled out a simple bag of rubber bands.
"Oh great, this again." Sweetie Belle moped, prompting Twilight to question what "this" was. But the question was answered before she could.
"We gotta use rubber bands for tension!" Scootaloo argued, slamming the bag onto the desk with gusto. "The book says so!"
"That was a different thing," Sweetie fought back, for what sounded like the umpteenth time, "We're building the one with the weight!"
"They're the same thing!" Apple Bloom joined in as she began to flip through the book for proof.
"No, they aren't!"
Twilight was left to watch awekwardly as the three friends continued to argue. Back and forth they went, giving a clear example of just why they had needed help with this project in the first place. From what she could tell, the trio was split about what exactly it was that they were building. Based on the page that Apple Bloom had brought up, it looked like Scootaloo and the earth pony had made a simple mistake.
"Look, it's got ropes and stuff to build up tension," the earth pony explained as she pointed to the picture, "You unhook the thing and it launches!"
"But that's the wrong one though!" Sweetie groaned in frustration, resting her head on the table. "We were trying to build the tall one!"
Scootaloo huffed. "What's the difference?"
"Actually... there's quite a big difference," Twilight was hesitant in her interruption but stood her ground once she began. "If you're trying to build a trebuchet, you probabbly shouldn't be using a catapult as a visual guide."
Bloom and Scootaloo looked to their example for reference. They both were overcome by apparent confusion as they studied the illustration before looking back to Twilight.
"They aren't the same thing?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Well, they're similar. But I'm afraid that is a catapult," Twilight explained with a kind smile and enthusiastic tone, "The inferior cousin to the greatest siege engine of all time, the trebuchet."
"See?! I told you so!" Sweetie Belle propped herself back up with a confident smirk.
"So wait... if we don't need these," Scootaloo chucked the bag of bands over her shoulder, "How does it fire stuff?"
"With the counterweight. You attach a sling to one end," Twilight pointed to one end of the trebuchet's throwing arm, "And on the other end you put a weight. Once you load it, you unlock the mechanism and gravity should do the rest, assuming you have the right weight ratio. But since this is a smaller one, we should be able to make it hoof operated."
Things got back on track after that. With the biggest obstacle in their progress taken care of, it didn't take them long to get the miniature weapon finished. As it turns out, the rubber bands did end up being used, after all, skillfully weaved together to form the pouch for the sling. It seemed that Sweetie Belle had picked up a few tricks from her elder sister. On the other end of the arm was yet another rubberband, from which the final popsicle stick hung. Not the most efficient counter-weight, but will a little applied force from a hoof, it would suffice for this model.
As proven by the test fire.
And the second test fire.
And the third.
Once they had finished construction, Twilight had provided a few crumpled up pieces of paper for a demonstration. It took a few tries—and a few repairs—to get the exact force needed correct, but they eventually got it right and they were launching the wads of parchment across the room for what felt like hours. Twilight was content with letting them play with their creation for a time, they weren't hurting anything and they weren't being overly loud. They'd get bored eventually and would pack up their things and leave.
"Awesome! We're gonna get an A on this for sure!" Apple Bloom blurted with glee, as the three fillies began to gather their belongings. "Thanks, Twilight!"
"Not a problem," the disguised alicorn smiled back, "Let me know how it goes with the class."
"We will!" Sweetie Belle was the one to grab the trebuchet. It was better to carry it with magic then it was to stuff it into a bag, after all. With that, the three dashed for the door.
"Let's go make it bigger!"
Twilight didn't pay any mind to Scootaloo's last comment until it was far too late, the three fillies were long gone by now. But despite the implications, she wrote it off as nothing. They were a group of fillies, just how much trouble could they possibly get into without being caught? Not a lot, she figured. They'd have to not only find the materials but also put them together. Not something that three ponies of their age could accomplish with ease. Not another moment was spent lingering on that, however, as the chime of the door's bell snapped her back to the here and now. Another patron needed assistance, and it was Twilight's job to give that assistance. Though once Twilight gave the newest guest her attention, she noticed there was something different about this particular pony.
The lavender-coated mare stood there at the entrance motionless, burdened by two very overfilled saddlebags—the obvious sign of a fellow traveler. A silver fob watch hung around her neck by means of a thin but sturdy-looking chain of similar silvery material, slightly glistening in the afternoon sun. The unicorn's mane dark violet mane shimmered in the afternoon sunlight and was contrasted heavily by the twin streeks running through it, blue as lightning. There was a strange sense of recognition Twilight received when she laid eyes upon the mare. Like perhaps the two had met once in the past. Perhaps a brief encounter somewhere on the road?
But that sense of déjà vu was of no consequence right now, as what really caught Twilight's interest the most was this pony's intense staring. Wide indigo eyes stared straight at—no, straight through Twilight, like there was something truly horrific and beyond words standing just behind her. Of course, there wasn't anything of the sort behind her—not as far as she was aware, at the very least—so this unicorn's staring warranted the confusion.
"Ahem," Twilight cleared her throat, "Can I help you?"
The unicorn shook herself out of her trance, looking to Twilight with a look of embarrassment. "Oh. Sorry... I spaced out there for a second..." She chuckled awkwardly, her face beginning to take on a slightly red tint.
And I thought Fluttershy was awkward, the alicorn observed as her newest customer closed the distance, "Well, what can I help you with?"
"Y-you work h-here?" The unicorn didn't seem to believe she had asked that question, shaking her head slowly in disapproval of her own actions. "Where's Mr. Onwud?"
"He's out at the moment running errands. Did you need something specific? I could go and—"
"No! It's fine!" Sudden panic shot through the strange pony, quickly doused by a surge of visible regret. "I mean... I just need to return a book. No big deal... right?"
"... Right," Twilight nodded slowly, leading the customer to the nearby desk. "I'll just need to see the book and your library card."
A sliver of her previous alarm returned, if only for a second. "Library card?"
Twilight gave the mare a blank stare. "Yes, a library card. You couldn't have checked out a book without one. And I need to see it so I can fill out the right paperwork. There's a system, I have to follow it."
"O-of course, how silly of me," another paranoid chuckle followed suit before she engulfed her horn in blue arcane light. One of the filled-to-the-brim bags flipped open and one of what looked to be many books was drawn forth from the confines. "Here's the book, give me a moment so I can find my card..." Taking the book for herself, Twilight gave a skeptical glance to the unicorn before looking to the book in question.
Corul Luminii Lunii.
The same book from Twilight's dream, she quickly realized. And not just a copy of the same text, but the exact same book. Same apparent age, same external damages, everything was identical. It was a surreal thing to see in the waking world, all things considered. A brief moment passed by where Twilight thought she was still dreaming, but the unicorn's voice was quick to distract her from that school of thought.
"Here it is!" The unicorn's voice brought Twilight back to the conversation. She was now holding up a small plastic card before the newest librarian. "Sorry that it took so long, clutter and all that."
Twilight knew the complications of overstuffed saddlebags first hoof and didn't bother getting upset about that. Instead, she took the library card in question and began the process of overlooking it. As expected, everything looked to be in order. Everything matched up with the cards Twilight had seen throughout her time here, the only difference being the mare's name scribbled onto the front. She took a moment to jot down both the unicorn's name and member number onto the appropriate document, as well as the book's title and date of return.
"Alright then, Starlight Glimmer, everything looks to be in order here." Twilight floated the card back to its owner and offered a smile. "Have a nice day."
"Y-you too..." Starlight muttered back, stowing away her library card once more and impatiently making haste for the door. But in spite of her apparent hurry to leave, she stopped and waited, motionless like a statue. There was a long and drawn-out pause before she spoke again, not looking back to the robed librarian. "What... what's your name?"
"... Twilight," the alicorn answered as nicely as she could.
"Twilight... I am... sorry. Just in general... I'm sorry." The unusual unicorn practically flew through the door without giving Twilight a chance to respond to the apology.
At least she was courteous enough to apologize for her awkward behavior, even if it wasn't exactly necessary. Twilight knew from experience that some people just didn't like meeting new people, and she wrote of the unicorn's anxiety without another thought on the topic. Instead, she focused her efforts back on her job and back on the book she had just been given. Opening up the front cover, she looked to the included index showing the book's history in this place.
And it had only ever been checked out one time, three years ago by that socially gauche unicorn. And based on the information scribbled into the small chart, the duration in which it was to be kept was exactly three years. To today's date and everything. Either a misprint on Knox's behalf or perhaps some irregular exception to the typical rules. Regardless, the book had been returned on time, so that meant less paperwork in general for Twilight to sift through. Always a benefit.
The only thing left was getting it back onto its shelf. Where that was, Twilight had no idea, but that's what the catalog was for. Thankfully the system was organized alphabetically, so finding the book's title was a quick endeavor in it of itself. It was also a tool that Twilight had to find on her own, Mr. Knox never having even mentioned it. And considering the dust that had accumulated on it when she found it the first time, it had scarcely ever been used.
But nothing was ever that easy, she knew that from experience, and this book proved that statement true. Because unless something was wrong, the shelf that this book belonged too didn't exist. Or at least, it didn't exist in any part of the library Twilight had seen thus far. The system itself was organized through a combination of letters and numbers. A1 was the first shelf on the first floor, B1 was the first on the second floor, so on and so forth. Yet according to the index, Corul Luminii Lunii belonged on shelf C6. The sixth shelf of the third floor.
Wait a minute... have I ever even been up there? The alicorn found herself looking back to her entire time working here. And looking back, she couldn't pull up a single instance in which she ventured beyond the second floor. In fact, nobody ever went up to the third floor. Nobody, except for one pony.
"Onwud..." She realized aloud, looking back to the Searăn tome on the desk. It was only now she noticed that Knox had been the only living soul to tread up those stairs, not very often, but enough to stick out in her mind. This led her back to the index, skimming feverously for another C-shelf-book. There were very few and very far between, but they were there. And outside of Corul Luminii Lunii, there was a pattern forming.
"They're all spellbooks... every single one."
This couldn't have been a coincidence. Throughout the first two floors, the spellbooks were placed alongside the regular texts, as to be expected with the alphabetical system. But on the third floor? All spellbooks. And not just spellbooks, old spellbooks. Covering every field of magic from conjuration to transmutation—and everything in-between. The only name Twilight found that she didn't recognize was the book that had been returned just moments ago.
What secrets could this passage hold?
"TWILIGHT!?"
Just as Twilight was about to open the book to see just what kind of subjects it covered, Golden Oak's door was rammed opened with great ferocity, her employer bellowing out louder then he had ever spoken before. Looking up from the book in shock, Twilight was greeted to the sight of what she could only call a feral sarosian. Eyes dilated far beyond normal, his mane and face glistening with fresh sweat, and breathing with heavy and haggard gasps that seemed to emphasize the fangs that were commonplace in his race. He looked like he was ready to murder someone, or like he had just finished murdering someone. Though this crazed facade faded almost as quickly as he had burst into the library, his usual way of carrying himself returning as his breathing normalized.
"Sorry, I just ran halfway across town..." Mr. Knox apologized, lightly kicking the door shut behind him as he walked up to the desk. "I saw my friend leaving town just now, and she told me she dropped—" his outlook changed to one of great joy as he caught sight of the book, scooping it up into his surprisingly prehensile wings, "Ah, there you are!" He tucked the tome neatly underneath one of said wings, holding it tightly to his body as if to protect it from anything and everything.
Twilight meanwhile, just stood there dumbfounded. The display her employer had just undergone was truly a sight to behold. He had written it off as exhaustion from running a great distance, the sweat still showing prominently on his brow serving as evidence for that. But then there was the way he had kicked open the door, the deep and raspy way he had been breathing, and that demented horrific look in his eyes. They were evidence of something more than simple physical exertion.
Anger. Desperation. Fear.
That's what Twilight had seen in those scant few seconds, a brief flash of something horrible lurking just beneath the surface that was the seemingly kind old stallion. It was like looking at an entirely different person, she could hardly even register that this was the same old horse who had hired her. Any angrier, and he would have been foaming at the mouth like a rabid dog. And a subtle but noticeable feeling in her gut told her that she wasn't the first to see this side of him. But that was shoved aside for the time being, Twilight thinking quickly and trying to ignore that for the moment. She'd gain nothing from a direct confrontation now, but perhaps she'd be able to coax him into giving some context to all of this by playing along. More flies with honey than vinegar, after all.
"Yeah, she was looking for you, actually," Twilight replied kindly, pointing down to the catalog book. "I was just trying to find the shelf that this belonged to. Turns out it goes—"
"On the third floor." Knox interrupted, eyeing the old collection of papers with a slight scowl. "Yes... that's a problem."
"Oh? How so?"
"The third floor... isn't public anymore. Hasn't been for years. In fact, we don't even have most of those books anymore." He groaned in dissatisfaction. "This thing needs to be updated. From a moment's glance, this whole thing needs to be entirely redone. We don't have any of these books anywhere in the library anymore."
That was a blatant lie and Twilight could tell. Unlike her employer, she had actually been using this organizational index for her entire employment thus far. And from what she could tell, every book from the first two floors was accounted for within this catalog. The exception being the books she had recently sold to the establishment before her employment. But still, she went along with Knox's story.
"So what's up there then?"
"I... live up there." There was a subtle stutter hidden amongst those words.
That didn't sound quite right to Twilight's ears. His hesitation and his attempted lie served as strong evidence against the claim. "You... live here?"
"Of course. I... like seclusion," he explained with a moment's pause, "And that's exactly what I get up there. Seclusion..."
"I see... then where does that book go?"
"Oh, this?" Onwud shook the wing that held the tome close to his barrel, "Well, after the third floor got restricted, the town wanted to sell the books up there. Which we did... but I kept this one for my personal collection... I used to have a copy as a colt, and I was feeling a bit nostalgic. So it stays with me... But my good friend wanted to borrow it for a bit, so I loaned it to her."
If nothing else, Knox had that part of his story straight, Twilight had to give him that. But even still, his alibi had holes in it. By the book's own documentation, it had been checked out one time. And that one time had consisted of a grand total of three years. And if he had loaned it to that unicorn, why would she bother returning it through the normal means? The mare had been a nervous wreck, but if she had borrowed the book in a personal sense she would have said something. But she didn't.
Not to mention, living in the restricted floor of a library didn't quite seem legal. Coupled with the fact that Twilight had seen him lock the door and leave on multiple occasions instantly proved that he wasn't being honest with her.
"Well, I should be able to take care of everything else today," Mr. Knox continued hastily on his way to the stairs, "You can go home early if you'd like. I know that those school ponies can be exhausting."
"But I—"
"Goodbye!"
Twilight said nothing else as her employer ascended to the upper levels of the library, vanishing from sight entirely. It was now that she let her skepticism and curiosity finally show, squinting at the staircase with great intensity. Her mind buzzed with questions and theories of what was going on within Onwud's mind. Either his old age was catching up to him with greater intensity than Twilight had initially thought, or he was hiding something.
Considering the things Twilight had seen last night, she was inclined to believe the latter.